CPHD
Use Permit
What is a Use Permit?
The County's Zoning Ordinance distinguishes between uses permitted "by-right" and uses allowed by "special exception." The use permit is one form of special exception. Use permits are required for land and building uses which are permitted in some zoning districts, but which may have undesirable impacts if appropriate safeguards are not imposed. The use permit offers a process for considering and approving such uses, subject to special conditions particular to the character of the use. These conditions assure that the use complies with all requirements and conditions of use permit approval.
All special exception use permit requests are required to be scheduled for a public hearing before the County Board. The County Board meetings to consider use permit requests are generally held once a month. The Planning Commission may also hold a public hearing to consider use permit requests if the County Manager or the Zoning Administrator determines that the proposed use has sufficient impacts.
Types of Use Permits
The uses permitted in a zoning district are classified in two ways: by-right uses and special uses. By-right uses, which are specified in the Zoning Ordinance, do not require special permission. They simply require a building permit and in some cases a site plan. Special Uses are also specified in the Zoning Ordinance but require an application and approval by the County Board. A Special Use Permit allows for certain land uses in a given zoning district that generally require a more in depth study than uses permitted “by-right”. These are some of the more common uses for which Arlington County requires a Special Exception Use Permit.
What do I need to file a Use Permit Application?
Four Steps to the Use Permit Process:
Items Related to Use Permits :
- Fee Schedule (125KB PDF Format)
- Application Form (452KB PDF Format)
Unified Residential Development
Unified Commercial Mixed Use Development
Other Use Permits
- Checklist (70KB PDF Format)
Completing the Application
The application forms and associated fees (125KB PDF Format) can be obtained from the County’s Zoning Office or by the Internet. The completed application submittal for a public hearing by the County Board consists of eleven (11) sets each of the items listed below:
- The application packet includes:
- A checklist which denotes items that are required to be submitted with the application.
- An application which describes the requested use.
- A Disclosure Statement which acknowledges ownership of the property to be used for the project. This statement must be notarized prior to submission.
- An Environmental Assessment Form (as required, dependent on the proposed use)
- A site plan, floor plans, elevations, landscape plans, etc.
- Any supplemental information that supports and/or further describes the request.
- Photographs of the site, buildings, etc. (as required).
- The associated fees (125KB PDF Format) cover:
- An associated fee is required for each use permit request which covers the cost of processing the application. The amount of the required fee is determined by the use being requested.
- A fee schedule is available in the Zoning Office to determine the cost for the particular request.
Application Submission
Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to file all special exception use permit applications in accordance with the Preliminary Filing Dates. Upon receipt of the use permit application, the Use Permit Team and the Zoning Office will review the application for completeness to determine if all of the items identified on the checklist are in place. If items are deemed missing the applicant will be notified by staff and given the opportunity to submit the information prior to the Final Filing date (PDF Format). If the required information is not submitted in a timely manner the application would move to the next available County Board meeting for consideration. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact affected civic associations, homeowners associations, partnerships, nearby residents/businesses, etc., prior to and following application submission.
Assignment and Review by Staff
After the application is deemed complete and accepted by the Zoning Office, the Use Permit Team assigns the work to individual planners. Affected civic associations, homeowners associations, near neighbors, partnerships, County Agencies and others are again notified and given a copy of the application package. The notification gives the date of the County Board Meeting and a date by which information would be needed by staff in order to be included in the staff report. These groups are encouraged to contact the assigned staff person with their input in a timely manner. Staff then prepares a report with a recommendation to the County Board.
County Board Meeting
At the County Board, meeting staff and the applicant may be requested to make a brief presentation. Others are permitted to speak as well, in support of or in opposition to the request. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the County Board makes a final decision on the applicant’s request. The County Board’s action can be in the form of the following:
- the request can be approved with conditions, denied, deferred, or
- the County Board can choose to take no action.
The hearing process from application submission to decision by the County Board takes approximately 68 days.
